United Kingdom - South East and East England: Warwick, Cambridge, Essex, Kent, Sussex; Gerard Mercator - Warwicum, Northhamtonia, Huntingdonia, Cantabrigia, Suffolcia, Oxonium, Buckinghamia, Bedfordia, - 1621-1650

Copper-engraved old map of Southeastern and Eastern England, hand-enhanced, by Mercator, published in 1633 in the Mercator-Hondius atlas.

It shows a territory extending from Warwickshire to Sussex and from Hampshire to Suffolk, with London and the course of the Thames. The relief is depicted by small hills and forests by groves. County boundaries are outlined in color.
The cartouche, a circular medallion surrounded by scrollwork, two candlesticks and a laurel branch, is surmounted by a small owl. The sea is engraved with small waves and bears the inscription “Oceanus Britannicus.”
One can discern the Goodwin Sands, the Isle of Wight and the French coast from Calais to Boulogne. Two scales of miles and a graduated frame complete the map.

Explanatory French text on the back (pp. 141 and 144), describing the counties depicted.

- Dimensions: on sheet: 56 x 47.5 cm; on the map plate: 46.9 x 35.3 cm
- Condition: Good overall for a map of this period. Presence of a vertical central fold and light soiling. See photos for more details.

Atlas Mercator-Hondius
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The atlas called “Mercator-Hondius” collects the work of Gerard Mercator, whose copper plates were purchased by Jodocus Hondius in 1604. This French edition of 1633 is signed by his son Henricus Hondius and his son-in-law Joannes Janssonius, who added new maps.

Gerard Mercator
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Gerard Mercator (Gerhard Kremer) was a cartographer and geographer of Flemish origin, born in 1512 in Rupelmonde and died in 1594 in Duisburg. Trained in Leuven, he became known there for producing terrestrial and celestial globes. His world map of 1569 uses the cylindrical projection that bears his name. His atlas was published after his death, in 1595. His plates were subsequently taken up and reissued by Jodocus Hondius, then by his son Henricus, whose editions circulated in the 17th century under the name of the Mercator-Hondius atlas.